Dear Visitor

Major British political opposition parties are voicing their support of a High Court ruling two weeks ago in favor of HSMP visa holders. In December 2006, the government changed the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP), making it more difficult for some people to score enough points to renew their visa. Retroactive application of these changes caused extensive controversy.

The High Court ruling overturned the retrospective application of the changes, finding the actions of the government to be in violation of the law.

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has completed the selection process on nearly 200,000 H-1B petitions received this month. More than 31,000 of the petitions received were for the Advanced Degree Exemption, reserved for graduates of U.S. universities at a Masters degree or higher. Everyone selected should receive notification by June 2nd and will eligible to begin work on 01 October, the first day of the 2009 fiscal year.

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin to allow certain foreign students in the U.S. under F-1 visas to extend their stay and their work permission. Those selected for an H-1B visa will be eligible to extend their stay in the U.S. until their employment begins.

Students are normally required to leave the U.S. when their F-1 visa expires. To qualify for the extension, F-1 students must be the beneficiary of an approved H-1B petition and a request - made by the employer - for a change of status must be submitted.

We now have TWO new offices in India!

If you would like to meet us in India to discuss immigration to the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada or the United States,

make an appointment (either office): indiaoffices@workpermit.com.

Tel: +91 44 4301 6510
Yamuna Street, Kalakshetra Colony, Besant Nagar, Chennai 600 090, India

Tel: +91 11 4223 5361 or Mob: +91 97 1100 1174
Eros Corporate Tower, Nehru Place, New Delhi 110 019, India

From 26 April 2008, foreign students in Australia will automatically be granted permission to work. Permission to work will also apply to eligible family members staying with a foreign student. The new rule will save time and money, even though the student visa fee will rise slightly.

Foreign students no longer need apply for work permission separately, a process that required extra paperwork and additional fees. Otherwise, current rules and regulations for the work rights of foreign students will not change.

Due to unintended consequences in Canadian immigration law, some people, even without realizing it, either lost or never had Canadian citizenship. The government of Canada has now passed legislation that will confirm the citizenship of the majority of people who find themselves in this situation.

Between 1947, when the first citizenship act took effect, and 1977, when it was replaced, some Canadians lost their citizenship under certain circumstances. In other cases, citizenship by birth was not confirmed, leaving some people without citizenship in any country.

Since the 2004 European Union expansion, Irish society has been dealing with the ramifications of integrating a large, foreign-born population. Hundreds of thousands of Eastern Europeans moved to Ireland in the last four years seeking a better life. A new study from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) found that many migrants are young and well-educated, but that many end up in low-skilled jobs. The report identifies several areas in which Ireland can improve integration of its immigrants, specifically recommending that Ireland continue to focus on language training and improving its recognition of foreign qualifications.

The Latvian labor market is being affected by emigration of Latvians to other countries. Latvian employers now must recruit workers from other countries becuase they cannot find Latvians willing to take available jobs. During the first quarter of 2008, over 1000 foreigners come to Latvia, a significant immigration rate for a country of only 2.25 million.

Growth of the numbers of guest workers is a trend unlikely to change. 2,200 foreigners came to Latvia annually prior to the European Union expansion in 2004. Now the number has about doubled, with the type of people coming in having shifted more toward job seekers. By 2012, it is estimated that up to 50,000 of the most educated and best workers could leave, further increasing the brain drain to crisis levels.

• Latvian labor market under duress

  While many Latvians have been going to countries such as Ireland for better work opportunities, Latvia itself is having work force troubles. Increasingly, employers must now recruit employees from other countries.more  »

• Australia grants work permission to foreign students

  From 26 April 2008, people coming to Australia under a student visa will automatically be granted permission to work. The policy also applies to eligible family members staying with the student.more  »

• Canada moves to restore citizenship to 'Lost Canadians'

  The government of Canada has passed legislation that will grant citizenship to people who lost it or never had it in the first place because of unintended consequences in existing and former Canadian immigration law.more  »

• OECD says Ireland needs to integrate migrants

  Ireland has transformed its economy in the last 20 years. In a dramatic turn-around from historical events, more people now try to migrate into the country rather than emigrate. Irish society must now deal with integrating a large, foreign-born population.more  »

• US allows foreign students to extend stay until granted H-1B

  United States Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) will now allow foreign students under F-1 visas who have been selected for an H-1B visa to extend their stay in the US until their employment start date. Normally, students are required to leave the U.S. once their F-1 visa expires.more  »

• British opposition politicians happy about HSMP ruling

  British politicians for major political parties welcomed a court ruling that brings some relief to thousands of Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP) visa holders uncertain about their future in the United Kingdom.more  »

• United States selects H-1B applications

  United States Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) has finished a computer-generated, random selection on the thousands of H-1B petitions received this month for the fiscal year 2009 quotas.more  »

• UK to remove immigration categories

  The United Kingdom is in the process of introducing its new five-tier points based system that covers all employment, study, and training-based immigration into the country.more  »

• Permanent residence for Iraqis who aided Australian troops

  As Australia gets set to withdraw its troops from southern Iraq, the government is extending its thanks to Iraqi employees who provided support services by allowing them to apply for permanent residence.more  »